Spy chief's memoirs go ahead

The memoirs of Stella Rimington, former head of MI5, are to be published in September by Random House despite fierce opposition from Whitehall spymasters, it was announced yesterday.

Though she is still discussing the manuscript of the book, Open Secret, with her successor, Sir Stephen Lander, it is clear she now believes the government will bow to the inevitable and allow her to go ahead.

Dame Stella, who has been given a six-figure advance, said yesterday she had been fortunate to be in "a central position during a time of great change in the security scene".

She said in a statement released by the publisher: "I have had the difficult task of balancing openness and secrecy in my professional and private life." Dame Stella, who is separated from her husband and has two daughters, has said she wanted to explain her role as a woman in a man's world.

She redrafted her manuscript last summer and recently resumed what Whitehall sources describe as a "relaxed debate" with Sir Stephen. However, others in the intelligence establishment - notably Sir Richard Dearlove, head of MI6 - are furious about her decision to write her memoirs. Ministry of Defence officials also remain strongly opposed to publication.

Dame Stella's manuscript will be subjected to final vetting by Sir Richard Wilson, the cabinet secretary, and possibly also by the home secretary, Jack Straw, who is responsible for MI5.

She has said she will invoke the Human Rights Act, enshrining the right to freedom of expression, if they try to block her memoirs.

Michael Mates, a Conservative member of the Commons intelligence and security committee, described Dame Stella's decision to go ahead as "totally disgraceful".

He said he did not expect the book to endanger MI5 operations, but believed it would seriously undermine the principle of secrecy binding former agents such as David Shayler, who facing a trial for alleged breaches of the Official Secrets Act.